Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 68
On Monday morning, Oct. 23, in the presence cameras and reporters from all the Bakersfield television stations, representatives from the State of California, Kern County, the City of Tehachapi and the Kern Council of Governments met for a press conference at the Broome Road exit of Highway 58 to make a long-awaited announcement. Tehachapi Councilman Phil Smith announced that Cal Trans has committed $257 million to construct truck climbing lanes along eastbound side Highway 58 from Caliente to...
Mojave Elks lodge #2059 is excited to invite you to its annual Rib Cookoff on Oct. 27 and 28. Dinner will be at the Mojave Elks Trap Range, Hwy. 58 & United St., Mojave. It will cost $15 (all the sides) and $7 for kids. Since this is a Membership Drive, the entire community should come. We offer Karaoke on Friday night with refreshments both Friday and Saturday, horseshoes on Saturday and games for the kids. We also offer camping ($10 for RVs, $5 for dry tent). Want to compete? At Cookoff entrance we provide ribs for you to cook in a 10’ by 1...
Councilmember Philip Smith informed of progress updates for a truck-climbing lane to be added to the CA-58 Hwy from Keene to Caliente at the June 5 meeting. Mayor Pro-Tem Joan Pogan-Cord noted that Councilmember Smith has been dedicated to this project and has expressed the need for truck-climbing lanes on CA Hwy-58 for nearly 30 years as he has served on the City Council. CA Hwy-58 has become the second-most traveled highway in California. State Senator Shannon Grove has previously stated verbal support, but Councilmember Smith reported that...
Caliente, California is a quick trip for Tehachapi railfans to see the interesting Horseshoe Curve. The day I went I saw seven trains in a period of three hours, which included a Southern Pacific Heritage Series 1996 and a BN Santa Fe Warbonnet. The Horseshoe Curve at Caliente is on the Union Pacific railroad Mojave sub-division, part of the old Southern Pacific Los Angeles to San Francisco Valley route. This route was built between 1875 and 1876. The curve is about a three mile drive downhill...
View "Update on Fleet ZEV requirements" in our May 27 issue at https://www.theloopnewspaper.com/story/2023/05/27/local-news/update-on-fleet-zev-requirements/10818.html Public Works Director Don Marsh outlined the new California Air Resources Fleet Regulations for the Tehachapi City Council at the May 1 meeting. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) now requires 50% of city fleet vehicles be zero-emission by Jan. 1, 2024 and 100% zero-emission by 2027. The city vehicles currently affected by...
The "Adopt-A-Pole" program gives Tehachapi and its residents an opportunity to show off their pride and patriotism for America by adopting a pole that will have a U.S. flag displayed on it during the summer months and holiday decorations displayed during winter months. The City of Tehachapi has approximately 100 decorative lampposts (poles) available for adoption along Tehachapi Blvd., Green St., F St., Curry St., Robinson St., and N. Mill St. adjacent to Hwy. 58. The Adopt-A-Pole program...
Some day-trippin' destinations are one-time only pursuits, and some are the kind I like to revisit now and again. The California Living Museum (CALM) – a local zoo in Bakersfield that features flora and fauna from California – is one of the latter. I like to go at different times of the year, and each time I'm there I have a little bit different experience. I visited CALM last July on what was surely the hottest day of the season, so I thought it would be fun to go again this (cooler) spr...
"Governor Newsom is trying to put the oil industry out of business in California," said Second District Supervisor Zack Scrivner at the Feb. 21 meeting of the Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce. The industry has faced a 50% reduction in property tax revenue since 2014 and the state of California now uses 1.8 million barrels of oil a day that comes from countries that have poor human rights. California uses 50% of the oil that is produced in the Amazon rainforest of Ecuador, a practice that ultimately...
Just under two hours north of Tehachapi is the lovely valley of Kennedy Meadows. At 6427' elevation this area is referred to by the Pacific Crest Trail hikers as the area where the desert meets the Sierra. As a trail angel in Tehachapi, I heard about this place from the hikers who stayed with us at Hippie Hiker Haven and I found myself intrigued by it. The hikers had just covered over 500 miles of desert and they were anxious to get out of the desert and into the Sierra. Kennedy Meadows is...
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) covers 2,663 miles of rugged terrain following the ranges of California, Oregon and Washington. Most hikers start at the Mexican border and, if they finish, complete the hike at the Canadian border. They gain significant altitude as they cross the towering Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. The National Park Service designated the route as a National Scenic Trail in 1968. It was completed and dedicated in 1993. The trail goes through western Antelope Valley and over...
At the April 4 City Council meeting, Tehachapi City Manager Greg Garrett announced that an upcoming CalTrans project on Highway 58 is currently available for public comment, but will not be completed until 2025. According to CalTrans, the project is currently in the design phase and includes 11.3 miles of Highway 58 to be located between Bealville Rd. and two miles west of the Highway 202 offramp. They will be upgrading existing pavement, guardrails, bridge rails, median barriers, drainage and...
On Monday, March 14 the Tehachapi Planning Commission approved three new projects in Tehachapi. The first is a Capital Hills retail center and gas station to be located at the intersection of Capital Hills Parkway and Magellan Drive. The project will include a non-commercial gas station with five pumps, a drive-through restaurant, convenience store and retail suite. The center will have entrances from both Capital Hills Parkway and Magellan Drive. Owner/architect Nadal Azzi was present to...
On Dec. 14, Tehachapi braced for a winter storm that dumped up to 6 inches of snow in the valley and even more at the higher elevations. Several roads were temporarily closed because of the snow, including Hwy. 58 and Tehachapi-Willow Springs Rd. Tehachapi area schools sent students home when the snowstorm began on Tuesday and remained closed through Dec. 16. Classes resumed on Friday, Dec. 17, just in time for a 2-week winter break starting on Dec. 20....
View from Highline Rd. of low pressure clouds covering Hwy 58 on Nov 24. Lori Mears, who submitted this photo, expressed gratitude to God for "once again giving [her] His traveling mercies."...
At their April 12 meeting, the Tehachapi Planning Commission gave a new approval for a Hampton Inn to be constructed in Capital Hills on the north side of Hwy. 58. Original approval for the 85 room hotel was given in 2015 to the projects prior owner. New owner Trophy Hospitality of Las Vegas was represented at the meeting by Bakersfield architect Steven Kieke. The new Hampton Inn will be located on the northwest corner of Capital Hills Parkway and Challenger Drive. The three story hotel will...
On the afternoon of April 5, in a cold harsh wind at the corner of Capital Hills Pwy. and Challenger Dr., the City of Tehachapi held a public press conference to address its response to the High Speed Rail (HSR) project. According to a press release from the City of Tehachapi, "The HSR has quickly and quietly opened public review and comment period for the California Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Supplemental Draft En...
News Release Contact: Key Budge Phone: 822-2200 x 119 Date: April 15, 2021 There will be between five and seven Earth Day Clean Up events in the City of Tehachapi during between Monday April 19 and Saturday April 24. Multiple volunteer groups and businesses have reached out to the City of Tehachapi to conduct various Earth Day Clean Up events. Monday April 19, 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM & also from 1 PM – 3 PM The Guardians of the Earth volunteer group will host two litter removal events. They are ask...
The largest non-profit nature preserve on the West Coast is located in Kern County, just a little more than an hour's drive from Tehachapi. This remarkable 95,000-acre place is called the Wind Wolves Preserve, and it serves as a crucial wildlife corridor to help connect two parallel mountain ranges. Wind Wolves Preserve is home to Tule Elk, mountain lions, bears, coyotes, deer, badgers and a host of other animals and birds, including the California Condor, one of the rarest birds in North...
As Pepe and I adjusted early last summer to the challenge of improving our ability to go walkabout for more than just an around the block exercise, I began planning a PCT hike point-to-point on the two nearby PCT Trailheads: Willow Springs Road to Hwy 58 - a distance of about eight-trail miles. With elevation changes and uneven terrain that would require major adjustments to our everyday flatland walkabouts. We would make the hike being prepared for an overnight camp just in case. Then...
Through much of this year's presidential campaign it has seemed like Tehachapi was a one-party town, with only one candidate being supported. That has now changed. Anyone driving westbound on Hwy. 58 between the East Tehachapi Blvd. and Mill Street exits will see a bold new billboard stating "Biden/Harris." As of this writing, it is the only one in Kern County. The billboard was the idea of a group of local residents who were talking with each other online about how frustrated they were with...
Human trafficking has long been a Kern County concern. The Hwy. 58 and Interstate 5 corridors, state officials emphasize, have long afforded fast and easy means for this illicit activity to flow from one end of the state to the other. Not restricted to just prostitution, human trafficking includes domestic workers and seasonal farm workers perpetrated by unscrupulous labor contractors. Child abduction oftentimes follows this same route. The informational rally on Aug. 22 was located at the...
In a telephonic meeting on April 20, the Tehachapi City Council voted unanimously to support the City’s response to the draft Environmental Impact Report released on Feb. 28 by the High Speed Rail Authority. Any City comments were to be received by the HSRA by April 28. In an eight page document, Development Services Director Jay Schlosser said he attempted to evaluate the way the project would impact the community and suggest ways to improve it, adding it would be pointless to fight the p...
Time on your hands? Read the hi-speed rail Tehachapi segment EIR. The California High-Speed Rail Authority has extended the public review period and hearing for the Bakersfield to Palmdale Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS). The review period has been extended to April 28. The public hearing, scheduled for April 23, will be a virtual format. To view the contents of the Draft EIR/EIS, visit the website www.hsr.ca.gov. This 70-mile Bakersfield to Palmdale...
As you may have noticed in previous years, Tehachapi will soon become the hub for international and domestic hikers. The world is walking into our amazing community from the Pacific Crest Trail, a hiking trail starting in Mexico and ending at the Canadian border. The trail is about 2,663 miles long, extends through California, Oregon and Washington, and usually takes hikers over six months to complete. The current hikers have been hiking for weeks, sometimes months, when they arrive in town...
At their Jan. 21 meeting, the Tehachapi City Council directed City staff to publish two times a notice to appoint an at-large member of City Council to replace Councilman Kenneth Hetge who resigned on Jan. 2. The appointee will finish out the rest of Hetge’s term, which ends on Nov. 3, 2020. A special election was not an option due to the November election when that seat will change from at-large to district. The Council again took up the subject of the Urban Greening Grant project that would s...
